01 November 2005

U.S. University and College Accreditation

An overview of the U.S. accreditation process

“Accreditation is a process of external quality review used by higher education to scrutinize colleges, universities, and higher education programs for quality assurance and quality improvement. Accreditation in the United States is more than 100 years old, emerging from concerns to protect public health and safety and to serve the public interest.

“In the United States, accreditation is carried out by private, nonprofit organizations designed for this specific purpose. External quality review of higher education is a non-governmental enterprise. In other countries, accreditation and quality assurance activities are typically carried out by government. …

“Accreditors review colleges and universities in 50 states and a number of other countries. They review many thousands of programs in a range of professions and specialties including law, medicine, business, nursing, social work and pharmacy, arts and journalism.”

According to the above document, there are three types of accreditors: regional, national, and those serving a specialized profession. Accreditation serves the following purposes: assuring quality, determining qualification for access to federal funds, easing transfer from one school to another, and engendering employer confidence in the degree or license granted by an institution.

[http://www.chea.org/pdf/overview_US_accred_8-03.pdf]

Judith S. Eaton

President, Council for Higher Education Accreditation